President Donald Trump nominated Elise Stefanik to be the ambassador to the United Nations on Nov. 11, 2024. Stefanik, 40, has represented New York in the House of Representatives since 2014. While she does not have extensive foreign policy experience, Stefanik is a prominent pro-Israel voice and serves on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees. And she holds a senior leadership position in the House.
Who is she?
Stefanik was the youngest woman ever to be elected to congress at age 30. Over the past decade, she transformed from a moderate Republican to a loyal Trump supporter.
In several interviews given in 2015 and 2016 she criticized Trump’s rhetoric regarding women and Muslims. But she became one of Trump’s fiercest defenders, serving on the defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020 and called the people prosecuted for storming the Capitol “hostages.” And when House Republicans removed Rep. Lynn Cheney (Wyo.) from the leadership team for her role in investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, Stefanik was elected to replace her as chair of the Republican Conference.
Stefanik received extensive coverage for her grilling of college presidents about antisemitism on campuses during the protests that erupted following Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Her questioning led to bipartisan criticism of Harvard and Penn presidents Claudine Gay and Elizabeth Magill, who both later resigned.
Follow the money:
- Stefanik has been a long-time contributor to Republican candidates. Her largest donation — $20,000 — went to fellow New Yorker Lee Zeldin’s 2022 campaign for governor. Zeldin has been nominated by Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Politico noted that Stefanik’s shift to the right came at a time when lawmakers were able to raise millions of dollars after defending Trump when he was first impeached in 2019. Stefanik raised $3.2 million in the last quarter of 2019 — up from over $450,000 the previous quarter.
- Stefanik’s campaign fundraising has grown from $3.1 million in 2016 to $13.3 million in 2020 to $15.3 million in 2024, coinciding with Stefanik’s pivot toward Trump and movement up the leadership ranks.
- The top funding
cohort of Stefanik’s 2023-2024 campaign were individuals who donated through the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, contributing a total of $204,000. She received $5,000 from AIPAC itself.
- Politico reported that after Stefanik’s questioning of college presidents, she raised $7 million. Top contributors were Apollo Global Management and Andreessen Horowitz, donating $29,400 and $19,800 to her campaign, respectively, through individual donations from CEOs and partners. Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo Global Management, called for the Magill’s resignation and has been a vocal advocate for Israel. Andreessen Horowitz has invested in Israeli defense start-ups, such as Zero Mark.
- Stefanik’s husband, Matthew Manda, is connected to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the top trade association for the firearm industry. Individuals and PACs related to gun rights contributed $404,000 during the 2024 election cycle.
- Stefanik received $170,000 in contributions from individuals and PACs related to oil and gas industries in the 2024 cycle.
Why does it matter?
- The United States continues to be the largest donor to the United Nations. In 2022 the country contributed more than $18 billion. As the U.N.ambassador, Stefanik will advocate for U.S. policy towards Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and other international hot spots.
- During his first administration, Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Although at the time Stefanik called the withdrawal “misguided,” she criticized the Biden administration last year for pushing a “Far Left climate agenda”. On his first day in office Trump issued dozens of executive orders, including one directing the U.N. ambassador to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. He also ordered the withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
- Stefanik described the U.N. as a “corrupt, defunct and paralyzed institution” in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner and accused the organization and several of its bodies of antisemitism. She co-sponsored legislation that the House recently passed to “sanction International Criminal Court officials who investigate or prosecute the United States and its allies,” as a reaction to the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Support Accountability Journalism
At OpenSecrets.org we offer in-depth, money-in-politics stories in the public interest. Whether you’re reading about 2022 midterm fundraising, conflicts of interest or “dark money” influence, we produce this content with a small, but dedicated team. Every donation we receive from users like you goes directly into promoting high-quality data analysis and investigative journalism that you can trust.
This post was originally published on here
